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[BEEPS] Hi, it's Doug. I'm surrounded today by paper. Paper is an amazing material. You can make almost anything out of paper. You can make a paper bird. You can make a paper airplane. You can make a paper hat. Someone named Malikai has a question about where paper comes from. Let's give him a call now. [BEEPS] Hi, Doug. Hi, Malikai. I have a question for you How do they turn wood into paper? That's a great question. You may or may not have heard this before-- the idea that paper comes from wood. It's true. But that seems crazy. How would that even be possible? What do you think? How do you think wood gets turned into paper? Now would be a good time to pause the video and discuss. OK, you ready? I don't know what ideas you had, but when I first heard that paper comes from wood, I thought, well, maybe they cut a piece of wood really thin or something? So maybe paper is like a really thin slice of wood? But it's not. Think about it. Paper is so flexible that you can fold it. You can crumple it even. Wood isn't very flexible at all. You definitely can't fold it or crumple it. So how is it that paper comes from wood? Well, making paper does involve cutting up wood. It turns out if you chop up any kind of woody plant into small bits, like these wooden chips here, and you mash it up really well, then boil it in water, you'll make this soupy stuff that you see here called pulp. Now, it's not a soup that tastes any good. You wouldn't want to eat it. But if you pour it out over a flat surface and then wait a few days, it dries out and all sticks together to become this. Now you can recognize it. It's a sheet of paper. Whoa. So that's how paper is made. It kind of makes you wonder, who came up with this idea to chop up wood and boil it? How did they figured this out? Well, it turns out it was discovered so long ago that we don't know exactly who discovered it or how. But we do know that it was discovered in China in ancient times, thousands of years ago. The Chinese became the world's first makers of paper, and they started trading it with people all over the world. People love paper because it has all kinds of great uses. The uses of paper that you're probably most familiar with is using it to write on or draw on. But don't forget one of the most important uses of all. Without paper we wouldn't have these-- books. The invention of paper made it possible for there to be books. So that's hugely important. But even that's not all. People experimented with different ways of making paper. And they discovered that they could make different kinds of paper depending on how thick or thin they spread the soupy pulp out to dry. If you spread it really thin, it will make a kind of paper that looks like this. It's so thin and flexible that you could use it to, you know, blow your nose. Sometimes we call it tissue paper. And you can probably think of other ways paper is used. We use paper to pay for things. Money is a type of paper. We use paper to play games, like these playing cards. We even use paper to do, you know, other things. So in summary, paper's made from wood by chopping wood up into bits, boiling it, and turning it into a soupy stuff called pulp. When the pulp gets spread thin and dries, it sticks together to form a sheet. That's all for this week's question. Thanks, Malikai, for asking it. Now, for the next episode, I reached into my question jar and found three questions submitted to me that I'm thinking about answering. When this video is done playing, you'll get to vote on one. You can choose from, how does toothpaste clean your teeth? What makes hurricanes so dangerous? Or, why is ocean water salty? So submit your vote when the video's over. I want to hear from all of you watching. There are mysteries all around us. Stay curious, and see you next week.

This one here, and here... And here... And... It's done! IT'S DONE! I have invented the time machine! But do you know, one of mankind's greatest inventions is probably lying around you right now? That’s right my friend, PAPER! This little thing is so abundant that it sometimes feels like a natural product. But it isn’t quite so. Ooooh oooh. Oh, no! There it goes... Let's trace this paper back to it's roots. Zoom in! In ancient times, that is before the paper was invented,.. ..people used to carry information not only in their brains... But on them too! Writing was usually done on bones, bamboo tablets or animal skin. Which made accessing these writings, err...messy and tedious. There was however, one Chinese man, in the Han Dynasty, in 105 AD.. ..who revolutionized the way people wrote and read, forever! The legend says, that a man named Cai Lun, once saw a wasp, knitting it's nest. It was then that an idea struck him. He took the bamboo fibers.. ..added them to water.. ..and pounded them with a wooden tool. After the fibers were thoroughly interwoven,.. ..he poured the whole mixture on a flat woven cloth. Letting the water drain out. He let the wet mixture dry up in the sunlight. And, Voila! After a few hours, the world's first paper was born. Cai Lun, presented his paper making process to the Chinese Emperor. And received praise for his ability. From that time, paper has been in use everywhere. And, is universally called the paper of Marquis Tshai. It was easy to make, the writers were happy,.. ..and of course, it was light weight. Do you know, although the Chinese kept the secret of paper making,.. ..discreet for a long time. The secret eventually started spreading,.. ..after the defeat of the Chinese T'ang army in 751 AD. By the end of the 12th Century,.. ..a major part of the world was using, Cai Lun's method of manufacturing paper. But as the popularity of this spectacular new invention grew,.. ..so did the demand! A demand that the manual method of paper manufacturing couldn’t certainly meet. This eventually gave way to water-powered paper mills,.. ..the first evidence of which.. ..dates back to the Spanish Kingdom of Aragon in 1282 The most common fiber source the manufacturing process used.. ..was from the rag picker! Which included hemp, linen and cotton. Use of this fiber source was to continue for another 6 centuries.. ..before another revolution! Although this paper was cheaper than the traditional writing material.. ..such as animal skin and bones. The cost was still high and production was low. Keeping it out of the reach of a common man. But this was only until two men, from different continents.. ..named Friedrich Gottlob Keller and Charles Fenerty.. ..tried wood fibre as a source material. In light of this new discovery,.. ..the mills started replacing this new discovery to wood fiber. And a new Era of paper making began in mid 1844. And by the end of the 19th Century, all the paper manufacturers in the West,.. ..were converting wood to paper. And, my friends, what is paper without pen and pencils. Awww... It would be the same as me without you. So, with the invention of fountain pen and pencils,.. ..the paper industry sky rocketed! Books were written and read. Paper money was printed. Even the gifts were wrapped in paper. Sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry... I said sorryyyy... Don't worry, we are safe now. He was just a paper tiger. So, what's more? Done... done... done. Oh, Yeah! TRIVIA TIME! Did you know, for every ton of paper that gets recycled.. ..we save three cubic yards of landfill space.. 7000 gallons of water. And, 20 trees. It also produces 73% less air pollution.. ..than making paper from new materials. And, what's more? The amount of energy saved from recycling.. ..can power an average home for 6 months! Global Toilet paper demand, uses nearly 30,000 tress, everyday! That is, 10 Million trees a year. Almost half of global wood harvest, becomes paper! Think about just how many trees we could save, if we all went paperless! So, there you have it. Some of the interesting things that I know about paper, and you should too! I hope the next time you read or write something, it's worth the paper it's written on. And remember friends, to tune in for the next episode. This is me, zoooming out! Hey kids, you liked my videos, didn't you? Before you go, don't forget to click on the 'Subscribe' button and the bell. So you won't miss out on my latest videos. See you.